Seal-lock.



E. L. CHRISTIAN.

Patented Apr. 27, 1909.

anuzntoz Wit no UNITE EDWARD L. CHRISTIAN, OF ELPASO, TEXAS.

SEAL-LOCK.

Application filed September 16, 1908.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apm'12'7, 1909.

Serial No. 453,368.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, EDWARD L. CHRISTIAN, citizen of the United States,residing at El Paso, in the'county of El Paso and State of Texas, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Seal-Locks, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention comprehends certain new and useful improvements in looks,relating more particularly to that type known as seal locks which aredesigned particularly for use in closing railway cars or the like andwhich embody a seal that must be broken before the o ening of the lockcan be effected, thereby al' ording means for detecting the unauthorizedopening of the lock and a fraudulent entrance to the car, and the objectof the invention is anlimproved device of this char acter which issimple and durable in construction and consists of comparatively fewparts which may be easily and cheaply manufactured and readilyassembled, the parts being so arranged that with the exception of theseal itself, they are in no wise injured (luring the opening of the lockas would prevent its reuse.

/Vith this and other objects in view that will more readily appear asthe description proceeds, the invention consists of certainconstructions, arrangements and combinations of the parts that I shallhereinafter fully describe and then point out the novel features intheappended claims.

For a full understanding of the invention, reference is to be had to thefollowing description and accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view; Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view;Fig. 3 is a front elevation; Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view onthe line of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a detail view of the hasp; Fig. 6 is adetail view of the lock pin and Fig. 7 is a similar view of the lockingpin, showing the same in inoperative position.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followingdescription and indicated in all theviews of the drawings by the samereference characters.

In carrying out my invention, 1 provide a bracket 1 which is designed tobe bolted or otherwise permanently secured to one of the parts. to besecured together, and in the present instance it is carried by the carbody, and which is formed with upper and lower out standing arms 2 and 3that have vertically of the holder, as shown.

alining openings 4 extending therethrou h, the opening in the lowerbracket arm 3 ing slightly larger than the other opening, and said arm 3being recessed in its upper face beyond the opening, as indicated at 5,so as to form a substantially vertical wall or outwardly facing shoulderThe extremity of the upper bracket arm 2 is preferably bifurcated asshown, and is hingedly connected in any suitable manner to the upper endof a seal holder 7 near the inner or rear side thereof, so as to renderthe same susceptible of being swung upwardly and outwardly about ahorizontal axis. The lower end of this seal holder is outwardly inclinedor beveled in the present instance and said holder is formed with avertical opening 8 extending longitudinally thereof and openingoutwardly at the opposite ends This opening 8 is enlarged intermediateof its ends and preferably in close proximity to its lower end, in orderto form a chamber 9 which is substantially parallel to the beveled endof the holder and which. opens outwardly through the rear side of thesame so as to be closed against the vertical wall or outwardly facingshoulder 6 when the holder is in its normal position and rests upon therecessed extremity of the lower bracket arm 3, as shown. Positionedwithin the chamber 9 is a seal 10 which extends transversely of theopening 8 and which is preferably constructed of paper or tin, althoughit is to be understood that I do not limit myself to any particular formof seal, but may construct the same of glass or clay, or any otherapproved material, and if desired may provide the portion of the outerface thereof that is exposed to view through the portion of the opening8 below the chamber 9, with an inscription relating to the destinationof the car, its official number, or any other subject matter. The sealholder 7 is also formed witha longitudinally extending and inwardlydisposed slot 11 which is located above the chamber 9 and has its lowerend preferably tapered, as shown, and which communicates with the upperportion of the opening 8 for a purpose to be hereinafter disclosed.

12 designates a securing member that in the present instance is in theform of a downwardly facing hooked hasp which is designed to be engagedwith a suitable keeper carried by the other one of the parts to besecured together, and the shank 13 of which is slidingly mounted in thevertical alined openings 4 and has its lower extremity slightlyenlarged, as shown, so as to be susceptible of passing through theopening in the lower bracket arm, but to be prevented frombecoming'disengaged from the slightly smaller opening in the other arm.The hooked end 14 of this hasp is shorter than the shank 13 and issubstantially parallel thereto and is designed to be inserted in theopening 8 to sustain the seal holder 7 in its normal position with thechamber 9 closed against the outwardly facing shoulder 6, said hookedend 14 terminating in close proximity to the seal 10 and beingpreferably chamfered to conform to the inclination thereof and formed atits lowermost extremity with one or more teeth 15. Above the teeth thehooked end 14 of the hasp is formed with an inwardly and upwardly curvedaperture 16 extending therethroughas shown, and designed for thereception of a curved lock pin 17 which is slidingly mounted therein andhas its extremities slightly enlarged so as to prevent the pin frombecoming disengaged from the aperture. This pin is somewhat longer thanthe aperture and is designed to have its outer end bear lightly againstthe seal as the hasp is pushed home into an operative position, and acontinued downward movement of the hasp causes the inner end of the pinto be projected inwardly beyond the aperture and to be received into theslot 11 A shoulder 18 is formed in the lower surface of the lock pin 17near the inner end thereof and is designed to catch over the end of thehasp as the lock pin is projected into the slot 11, thereby preventingthe lock pin from passing through the aperture and out of engagementwith the slot 11 when the hasp is slightly raised, and thus holding thehooked end of the same securely in position in the seal holder.

From the foregoing description in connection with the accompanyingdrawing, it will be apparent that in order to release the hooked end ofthe hasp and permit it to be moved upwardly beyond the holder to bedisengaged from the keeper on the car door, it is necessary to beardownwardly upon the hasp to project the hooked end 14 thereof throughthe seal 10, whereby to afford convenient access to the lock pin 17 andpermit the same to be withdrawn from engagement with the slot 11.Obviously, the hasp may then be moved upwardly and the hooked end 14thereof raised out of the opening 8 in the seal holder 7.

In order to render the lock susceptible of being again used, it is onlynecessary to swing the seal holder 7 upwardly about its horizontal axis,while the hasp is in raised position, and move the rear side of theholder outwardly beyond the lower bracket arm 3,

whereupon the ruptured seal may be con veniently withdrawn and replacedby a new one.

It will thus be seen that I have provided an improved seal lock whichmay be used repeatedly without becoming materially injured, which ispositive in action and necessitates a breaking of the seal before thelock may be opened, and which consists of few parts that may be cheaplymanufactured so as to be placed upon the market at a price not too greatto prevent the general adoption of the lock.

When the hasp or securing member 12 is pressed downward, to breakthrough the seal 10, the pin or lock 17 automatically is moved at thesame time so as to clear the slot or recess 11, whereby upon the reversemovement of the hasp or securing member to disengage the part 14 fromthe holder 7, the pin or lock 17 will be out of the way and notinterfere with the upward movement of the hasp or securing member. Thisresult is effected by an inclined shoulder 19 at the lower end of theslot or recess 11, the inner end of the pin or lock 17 riding upon saidinclined shoulder 19 and being moved outward thereby. When the inner endof the pin first comes in contact with the inclined shoulder 19, it islifted to disengage its shoulder 18 from the inner end of the opening 16and a continued downward movement of the securing member 12 presses thelock 17 outwardly through the aperture so that the inner end of the lockis entirely retracted from the slot 11 and the outer end is projecteddownwardly and forwardly beyond the chamfered end of the part 14 toassume the position illustrated in Fig. 7. In this position the lock isarranged in substantially the same relation to the part 14 as when thelatter was first inserted in the holder 7, and it will be observed thatbecause of the curved formation of the look, its forward end does notextend beyond the line of the periphery of the part 14, and hence innowise interferes with the longitudinal movement of this part throughthe opening 8. As before described the ends of the lock pin 17 aresufficiently enlarged so as to be prevented from passing through theaperture 16, to prevent the look from becoming completely disconnectedfrom the hasp, as might result in its loss, which would thereby renderthe entire device inoperative.

As the preferred means for effecting a suitable sliding connectionbetween the hasp and the bracket, the shank 13 is formed, or providedafter it has been passed through the upper opening 4, with a lug orprojection 20 which constitutes a stop to prevent the shank from beingwithdrawn through said 0 ening, and which is adapted to be passed trough an enlargement 21 formed in the lower opening 4 so as to renderthe hasp sus- .a chamber and an opening ceptible ot'having the desiredlimited movcment relative to the bracket.

Havingthus described the invention, what is claimed as new is 1. A seallock comprising intersecting the chamber, a seal located in saidchamber, a hasp or like securing member slidably mounted in the said.opening and supported in operative position by the seal, and a .lock pincarried by said securing member and cooperating with the holder toprevent release oi the securing member so long as the seal remainsintact.

2. A seal lock comprising a holder having a chamber and an openingintersecting the chamber, a seal located in said chamber, a hasp or likesecuring member slidably mount ed in said opening and supported inoperative position by the seal and a lock pin for pre venting release ofthe securing member so long as the seal remains intact and adapted torelease the securing member after the seal has been broken.

3. A sea-l lock comprising a holder having a chamber and an openingintersecting the chamber, a seal located in said chamber, a hasp or likesecuring member slidably mounted in said opening and supported inoperative position by the seal and a curved lock pin carried by thesecuring member to prevent the release thereof so long as the sealremains intact.

4. A seal lock comprising a holder having a chamber, an openingintersecting the cham ber, and a recess at one side of said openingprovided With an inclined Wall, a seal located in said chamber, a haspor like securing member slidably mounted in the opening and supported inoperative position by the seal and a lock pin carried by the securingmember and having an end portion projected into the recess incommunication with the aforesaid opening to prevent release oi thesecuring member so long as the seal remains intact, said lock pin beingautomatically thrown out of operative position by the aforesaid inclinedWall when the securing member is moved to break the seal.

5. A seal lock comprising a supporting member and a seal holder movablyrelated the latter having a chamber which is closed at its entrance whenthe two members are associated, a seal located in the said chamber, anda hasp or securing member mounted in both members of the seal lock andadapted in an operative position to secure the same against separation.

6. A seal lock comprising a bracket having spaced arms, a seal holderhaving an opening and a chamber, the latter being closed at its entranceWhen the two parts of the seal lock are together, a seal located in saidchamber, and a hasp having one arm slidably mounted in the arms of theaforesaid bracket and hava holder having mg its other arm slidablymounted in the said holder and maintained in operative position so longas the seal remains intact.

7. A seal lock comprising a bracket having spaced arms, a seal holderhaving an opening and a chamber, the latter being closed at its entrancewhen the two parts of the seal lock are together, a seal located in saidchamber, a hasp having one arm slidably and rotatably mounted in thearms oi the aforesaid bracket and having its other arm slidably mountedin the said holder and supported in operative position by the seal, anda lock pin cooperating with the holder and the hasp member mountedtherein to prevent release of the hasp and holder so long as the sealremains intact.

S. A seal lock comprising a holder having a chamber and an openingintersecting the chamber, a seal located in said chamber, a securingmember mounted in the opening, and a lock pin [or preventing the releaseof the securing member so long as the seal remains intact.

9. A seal lock comprising a holder having a chamber and an openingintersecting the chamber, a seal located in said chamber, a securingmember slidably mounted in the opening, a lock pin [or preventing therelease ol' the securing member, and means for rendering the lock pininoperative upon the movement of the scouring member to break the seal.

10. A seal comprising a holder having a chamber and an openingintersecting the chamber, a seal located in said chamber, a securingmember slidably mounted in the opening, a lock pin carried by thesecuring member, means for engaging the lock pin with the holder uponthe movement ol the securing member against the seal, and means forrendering the lock pin inoperative upon the movement of the securingmember to break the seal.

1 1. A seal lock comprising a holder having a chamber, an openingintersecting the same, and a recess at one side of the opening, a seallocated in said chamber, a scouring member slidably mounted in theopening and provided with a beveled end, and a lock pin slidably mountedin the said beveled end and having one end arranged to bear against theseal and project the other end of the pin into the recess.

12. A seal lock comprising a holder having an opening, a securing membermounted in the opening, a seal secured in proximity to the opening,means [or preventing the release of the securing member, and means [orrendering said iirst named means inoperative by and upon the movementol' the securing member to break the seal.

13. A seal lock comprising a holder having an opening, a securing membermounted in the opening, a seal secured in proximity to the opening, alock pin carried by the securing member, means for engaging the lock pinwith the holder by and upon the movement of the securing member againstthe seal, and means for rendering the lock pin inoperative by and uponthe movement of the securing member to break the seal.

14. A seal lock comprising a holder having an opening and a recess atone side of the same, a seal in proximity to the opening, a securingmember mounted in the opening, and a lock pin slidably connected to these curing member and having one end arranged to bear against the seal toproject the other end into the recess.

15. A seal lock comprising a holder having an opening, a recess at oneside of the same, a seal secured in proximity to the opening, a securingmember mounted in the opening, a lock pin slidably connected to thesecuring member, means for projecting the lock pin into the recess, andmeans for preventing the disengagement of the lock pin from the recessas long as the seal remains intact.

16. A seal lock comprising a supporting 25 E. L. CHRISTIAN. [L. s.l

Witnesses W. S. DAWSON, W. A. RINDAUER.

